Jeremiah 4:29

29 At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them.

Jeremiah 4:29 in Other Translations

KJV
29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
ESV
29 At the noise of horseman and archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks; all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them.
NLT
29 At the noise of charioteers and archers, the people flee in terror. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the towns have been abandoned— not a person remains!
MSG
29 Someone shouts, "Horsemen and archers!" and everybody runs for cover. They hide in ditches, they climb into caves. The cities are emptied, not a person left anywhere.
CSB
29 Every city flees at the sound of the horseman and the archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left.

Jeremiah 4:29 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:29

The whole city shall flee
Or, "every city"; for not Jerusalem only is meant, but every city, or the inhabitants of every city; and so the Targum paraphrases it,

``all the inhabitants of the land,''
who would be put into a panic, and flee: "for" or at the noise of the horsemen and bowmen;
of which the army of the enemy would greatly consist: it intimates that the inhabitants of Judea would not stand a battle; but at hearing the sound of the trampling of the horses, and the clattering of the bows and arrows, that the men upon them had, they would flee at once: they shall go into the thickets, and climb upon the rocks;
that is, either the horsemen and bowmen, who would pursue the inhabitants into those places: or rather the inhabitants themselves, who would flee thither to hide themselves from their enemies; namely, get into woods and forests, and among the thick trees, and cover themselves; and upon the highest mountains and rocks, and into the holes and caverns of them, and secure themselves from the enemy; see ( Matthew 24:16 ) , the word for "thickets" signifies "clouds" F9; and Kimchi interprets it of places as high as the clouds, as the tops of some mountains are, so that going up to them is like entering into the clouds; and which are sometimes covered with thick trees, and look like clouds; but the Targum explains it of woods or forests: every city shall be forsaken;
of its inhabitants: and not a man dwell therein;
as the prophet had seen in his vision, ( Jeremiah 4:25 ) , this was to be when a full end was made, not by the Babylonians, but by the Romans.
FOOTNOTES:

F9 (Mybeb) "in nubes", Munster, Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt.

Jeremiah 4:29 In-Context

27 This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.”
29 At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them.
30 What are you doing, you devastated one? Why dress yourself in scarlet and put on jewels of gold? Why highlight your eyes with makeup? You adorn yourself in vain. Your lovers despise you; they want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child— the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands and saying, “Alas! I am fainting; my life is given over to murderers.”

Cross References 4

  • 1. S ver 13; Jeremiah 6:23; Jeremiah 8:16
  • 2. 2 Kings 25:4
  • 3. S Exodus 33:22; S 1 Samuel 26:20
  • 4. S ver 7; S Isaiah 6:12
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